The Sopranos: Why Tony Killed Christopher In Season 6

Despite it being years since The Sopranos season 6 aired in 2006, there are still many questions about why Tony killed Christopher Moltisanti. Tony Soprano was the head of the crime family in the series with his nephew Christopher as one of his soldiers with his own personal issues. In one of The Sopranos‘ final episodes, “Walk Like a Man,” the two men appear to be on good terms, despite some unresolved issues. However, the inherent vices of the underworld soon catch up with Christopher, which leads to the season 6 episode “Kennedy and Heidi”, when Tony Soprano kills Chris.

Tony killing Chris was one of the most significant deaths in The Sopranos yet the show did not give a clear answer as to why Tony chose to off his nephew. The background of Tony and Christopher’s relationship is revealed in The Many Saints of Newark, HBO’s Sopranos prequel movie, adding more context to the moment. Moreover, Christopher narrates The Many Saints of Newark as a disembodied voice from hell. Although The Many Saints of Newark is focused on Dickie Moltisanti and a teenage Tony, Christopher’s season 6 death in haunts the DiMeo crime family even in the past.

How The Sopranos Explained Why Tony Killed Christopher

Christopher’s Death Was Set Up With Tony’s Concerns Over His Son

While Tony killing Chris in The Sopranos was a shock to viewers when the episode aired in 2006, the show had dropped subtle hints leading up to it. Christopher’s death was thematically foreshadowed in “Walk Like a Man” through Tony’s interactions with his son A.J. (Robert Iler) and Dr. Melfi. While they initially seem unrelated, they reveal a great deal about Tony Soprano’s worldview and outlook at the time, which by extension explain why he killed Chris.

Christopher wasn’t killed by Tony as part of a mob hit but because of what Christopher represented in regard to Tony’s son, and where Tony was on his journey as a parent. After a breakup, A.J. becomes severely depressed and shows suicidal behavior, at least according to his sister Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler). Tony subsequently tells Dr. Melfi that he’s done with therapy and calls the sessions “a jerk-off.” He references his failures as a parent, and how he has passed “rotten” genes to his son. Meanwhile, Tony anticipates yet another Christopher meltdown after he throws Paulie’s nephew through a window.

Importantly, though, Tony doesn’t realize that Christopher is no longer sober. These are all factors that build to a fateful car accident involving Tony and Christopher, with the latter admitting that he’s unable to pass a drug test. Although Tony can never change what he genetically passed on to A.J., he can prevent Christopher from destroying lives other than his own. Christopher’s life is worth saving, of course, but Tony’s subconscious guilt takes over, and he suffocates Christopher until he chokes to death on his own blood.

Tony Soprano Saw Killing Christopher As Merciful

Tony Also Made A Choice About Which Family To Save

The Sopranos also set up Tony killing Christopher in a clever way through the show’s soundtrack. Although the moment was shocking, Tony’s motivations presciently link to a song that plays before the accident, with Christopher referencing The Departed soundtrack and playing Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” In Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film, the track plays as Leonardo DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan spirals out of control during an undercover investigation and contemplates suicide.

As Tony and Christopher drive, “Kennedy and Heidi” plays, with the lyric “the dream is gone” underlining the central message of the scene and foreshadowing Tony’s subsequent actions as the mob boss kills Chris to save him from a more tragic death. Prophetically, David Chase shows audiences that in Christopher Moltisanti’s final moments, he isn’t terrified but rather “comfortably numb.” As Tony and Christopher’s relationship comes to a bittersweet end, there is a faint sense of acceptance — and even relief — from both characters.

Delving further into this scene, it is apparent that this pivotal Sopranos moment stems from many additional factors. Considering Tony’s position in the DiMeo crime family, Tony needs to be absolutely convinced that someone like Christopher won’t spiral out of control and reveal information about their organization. Tony does trust his protégé to a certain extent and loves him like a son.

Unfortunately for Christopher, though, he’s simply gone too far this time by driving under the influence with Tony in the passenger seat. After the accident, Tony sees a crushed baby seat and seemingly thinks about his own children, forcing him to take control, because he can, and essentially choose one family over another by killing Christopher (who, tellingly, isn’t his direct blood relative). Tony chooses his own family, the one he shares his final moments with in the show’s final scene.

Christopher’s The Many Saints Of Newark Narrator Role Adds Weight To His Death

Christopher Telling The Story Of Young Tony Sopranos Strengths Their Relationship

The Sopranos’ backstory is revealed in the prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark, and Christopher narrates it to further establish the impact of Tony and Christopher’s relationship on the DiMeo crime family. Christopher’s narration begins in the opening sequence showing his tombstone, during which he provides context for the movie’s title by explaining that Moltisanti is a religious name that literally means “many saints.” Notably, Christopher’s voice functions as the narrator to continue the series’ long tradition of using elements of mysticism to punctuate crucial points in the lives of the DiMeo crime family members.

After the opening sequence, every scene Christopher narrates in the Sopranos prequel involves a key point in young Tony Soprano’s life. This includes Christopher talking about important DiMeo crime family players as Dickie (Alessandro Nivola) and Tony pick up Dickie’s father Dick Moltisanti (Ray Liotta), where Christopher also introduces Tony, “The little fat kid is my uncle, Tony Soprano… He choked me to death.” Christopher also narrates the movie’s time jump from the ’60s to the ’70s, the scene where Tony moves to the suburbs, and, most notably, Dickie’s funeral.

As Tony looks upon the corpse of his uncle and mentor, Dickie’s hand moves up to make a pinky promise with his nephew while The Sopranos theme song fades in — a sign of Tony’s dedication to Dickie and the DiMeo family. With the camera focused on Tony’s face, Christopher narrates, “That’s the guy, my uncle Tony. The guy I went to hell for.”

Christopher’s supernatural presence in The Many Saints of Newark reveals how his spirit views his death. While his last line seems acerbic, there’s no bitterness or anger in his voice when he says the line, implying that Christopher understands why Tony killed him.

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Christopher Moltisanti Got What Was Coming To Him

The Shock Of Christopher’s Death Doesn’t Forgive His Crimes

Christopher Moltisanti’s death, in hindsight, was inevitable and deserved in many ways given his past actions. In the end, just like how Tony regards Dickie, Christopher can’t help but look up to Tony, even when he’s viewing his uncle, mentor, and father figure from hell. However, all three got what was coming to them, especially Christopher. Throughout The Sopranos, Christopher killed nine people, most notably Emil Kolar (his first kill) and J.T. Dolan (his last).

However, what truly makes Christopher’s final moment so justified is how he, while high on heroin, sat on a dog and killed it. What’s worse is that even this wasn’t enough of a signal for Christopher to stop using. Just as Tony Soprano was haunted by dreams of the murders and wrongdoings he committed, karma eventually caught up to Christopher, and his death was simply reaping what he’d sewn throughout his life.

What Michael Imperioli Said About Christopher’s Death

Imperioli Also Highlighted Subtle Foreshadowing Of Christopher’s Death

The Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli runs a podcast with Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri) called Talking Sopranos and in episode 87, the two discuss the infamous season 6 episode “Kennedy and Heidi” where Tony kills Christopher. Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi) joins them to talk about Melfi’s arc over the series, but the second half of the episode discusses Christopher’s death in the larger context of the show. Imperioli remarks that he’s frequently asked about the scene, but found that while filming it simply felt like “another day at work,” and much of the focus was on the car stunt itself.

To Imperioli, the emotional impact of Christopher’s death didn’t hit home until after the episode aired. He called the experience both “emotional” and “strange.” Imperioli cited two instances around Christopher’s death that he saw as bringing the series full circle. First, Christopher, who didn’t often wear baseball caps, was wearing one in his introductory scene and his death scene.

Second, in The Sopranos episode “Fortunate Son” when Christopher gets made, he sees a crow in the window and considers it a bad omen. After his death, the scene is preceded by a crow cawing, a subtle mark of the brilliance of The Sopranos.

How Christopher’s Death Impacted The Future Of The Sopranos

Tony Reacts To Christopher’s Death With A Mix Of Guilt And Relief

While Tony killing Christopher happened near the end of The Sopranos, given how big of a role Christopher played in the series, it is not surprising that his death left an impact in the remaining episodes. Most of the discussion around it reflects on Tony and how he is reacting in the aftermath of murdering his nephew. While Tony conducts himself appropriately in front of his family and at the funeral, he is also unable to hide the fact that he is relieved to have this problem in his life taken care of.

However, there is also a sense that Tony is trying to justify the killing and convince himself that it was a good thing to do. As with many Sopranos dream sequences, Tony’s subconscious communicates a lot more about how he really feels. He has a dream in which he admits to Dr. Melfi that he killed Christopher as well as several other victims Tony killed in The Sopranos. It is a sign that there is some guilt within him about what he did.

Though Christopher doesn’t appear in any of the final episodes after his death, he does have a presence in the rest of the series. A photo of Christopher hangs on the wall of the clubhouse in honor of their fallen comrade. Eventually, a cat shows up and spends the whole time staring at the picture of Christopher, creeping Paulie out considerably and hinting at more of the supernatural and superstitious aspects of The Sopranos.

The Sopranos

Considered to be a quintessential drama series to watch, The Sopranos is a crime-drama series that follows Tony Soprano, who tries to manage the expectations of an Italian-American patriarch while acting as the head of a prolific New Jersey crime family. Burdened by the stress of the expectations thrust upon him, Tony regularly visits a therapist throughout the series run. This helps give context to Tony’s actions as a ruthless boss with violent tendencies.

Cast

James Gandolfini , Lorraine Bracco , Edie Falco , Michael Imperioli , Dominic Chianese , Steven Van Zandt , Tony Sirico , Robert Iler , Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Release Date

January 10, 1999

Seasons

6